Miner hurt by decision to hedge

The operator of a big copper mine near Ely finally will benefit from higher prices for the metal this year.

Quadra Mining Ltd. used the futures markets to lock in prices for about 90 percent of the 2006 copper production from its Robinson Mine.

The only problem: Prices skyrocketed, averaging $3.05 a pound on the London Metal Exchange, and Vancouver-based Quadra Mining said last week it left $143 million on the table as the result of its decision to hedge the production at lower prices.

The last of the hedges will be closed out this spring, Quadra executives said last week, and they won't be selling this year's production into the futures markets.

The Robinson Mine produced 121.4 million pounds of copper and 75,074 ounces of gold last year.

Quadra earned $4.7 million in the fourth quarter compared with $2.2 million in the same period a year earlier.